Monitoring, Smart Controls & Software Feature
Technology
The importance of IoT
Dane Ralston of iOpt explores how educating tenants in using the latest IoT technology can significantly improve their health, in addition to maintaining the internal health of the property and limiting the amount of maintenance and repairs required
households (35 per cent of the population) are living in fuel poverty, with levels far higher in rural areas at 50 per cent. The report also highlights the fact that these households tend to suffer from, or are put at risk of, poor health and wellbeing outcomes and lower education attainment. Fuel poverty in Scotland has remained at the same level for a decade now,
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having more than doubled since 2003. In addition, figures from the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) confirm that fuel poverty is more of an issue for those living in social housing. Unfortunately, when tenants do not keep their homes warm and dry, it tends
to open up a vicious circle of ever decreasing well-being inside a property – both in terms of the property itself and its occupants. Tenants are often completely unaware that the property they are living in can in fact be damaging to their health. For example, there is now clear evidence to show a connection
t’s a sad fact that too many households in the UK cannot afford to keep their homes warm and dry. In Scotland, where we are based, recent statistics released by the Scottish Government show that 845,000
between damp and mouldy homes and the emergence of asthma attacks in young children. A major new study was recently published in the journal ‘Indoor Air’ from researchers at the University of Otago in Wellington (UOW), New Zealand, which proved this to be the case. It has been widely known that damp and mould can make asthma worse for people already living with the condition, but this is one of the first studies to prove mould could be causing asthma to develop. Hearing how mould and damp can affect a child’s health so significantly is
shocking, but it is not uncommon to hear of people living with damp and mould in their properties. With changes in Building Regulations coming into force over the next couple of years we believe it will eventually become
compulsory for all new build properties to have CO2 sensors in bedrooms. The implementation of regulations like this will go some way to improving
the health of tenants in the UK, but there is still a long way to go. We know that the Scottish Government is committed to tackling fuel poverty and making homes warmer and more energy efficient through the development of the
www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM December/January 2020 | 35
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